Historic Places in South Jersey

A discussion of historic sites, and events, with the purpose of sharing, encouraging participation, and networking.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Washington's Headquarters, Morristown National Historical Park

The winter of 1979 to 1980 was the coldest in recorded history in New Jersey. That winter, 10,000 soldiers, poorly clothed and starving, cut down thousands of trees in Jockey Hollow to build log cabins to survive that brutal winter of deep snow and severe cold.
In the first week of October, a group of volunteer docents from the Whitall House, National Park, NJ drove the two plus hours up to visit Washington's Headquarters in the Ford Mansion and to see the Wick House and Jockey Hollow where the soldiers struggled to survive while General Washington strove to work out his military strategy and to feed and clothe his dwindling army. I thought the folded portable camp cot was interesting. I'd never seen one before although I have seen them unfolded and set up at various re-enactments.
You have to wonder, if you were a man in that army at that time, would you have stayed, or would you have headed back home to check on your wife and children, the family farm, and to get something to eat and simply get warm again. What a moral struggle for those men. Twelve men shared each of the one thousand cabins built on the land adjoining the Wick Farm.
General Washington was invited by the widow Ford to share her mansion. She and her children occupied a few rooms while the General and his entourage of officers and servants occupied the rest of the house. There would have been over 80 people sharing the house and even though it is a very large place, it must have been crowded and noisy. The Wick House, a charming New England style farm house was shared by the Wick family with General St. Clair.
The army spent two winters in the Morristown area, 1777 and 1779-80. New Jersey has a treasure trove of sites where the hundreds of battles, skirmishes, and other crucial events of the Revolution took place.
The Ford mansion had been closed for repairs but is now open for visitors and I hope you will find a day to visit this important place in our nation's history.
We had a wonderful time there and October is a perfect season for visiting our parks. We ate lunch in nearby Morristown at a quaint Irish Pub where I enjoyed a delicious butternut squash soup and cranberry bread.

Sheppard's Landing on the Cohansie River

Greenwich Friends Meeting

Maple Shade Presentation

Maple Shade Presentation

Burrough-Dover House

Maple Shade

Municipal Building on Stiles Avenue

MapleShade

My family's last home in Maple Shade on Linwood Avenue.

Upcoming Events at the Indian King Tavern

2/19 George Washington re-enactor visits for birthday cake and open house.
5/14 Betsy Ross will speak at open house.
7/4 Post-parade open house.
8/6 Dolly Madison re-enactor.
9/17 Ned Hector re-enactor.
10/15 Benjamin Franklin re-enactor
11/25, 12/2, 12/9 & 12/16 Candlelight shopping in Haddonfield and open house at the tavern.
12/8 Decorated Tavern Tour.
12/31 First Night Open House.
Hours are typically 1 to 4 p.m. with costumed docents to take you through fine dining, the bar and grille, tavern, keeping room, and upstairs, the Assembly Room, bedrooms (including one with Dolly Madison's bed) and a small museum room.

Events in 2011

For additional info. on any events, check these places on the web. I'm posting all the info. I have.

Sat. 1/29/2011, a band of Whitall volunteers with the leadership of Harry Schaeffer, will travel to Princeton to visit the battlefield, the Clark House and to see what might be Count Carl Von Donop's skull. That's right. We aren't forensic specialists, but we'll tell you what we think when we return and if photos are allowed, I'll post one!

Background and Purpose

I am a volunteer at several local historic sites including the Whitall House, Red Bank Battlefield, National Park, the Indian King Tavern, Haddonfield, NJ, and Paulsdale, in Mount Laurel.
I'm a member of the Gloucester County Historical Society and the Camden County Historical Society as well.
Since I retired from teaching in 2006, I've also done some part-time presentation work for CCHS and Moments in Time, a business providing historical programming to schools, and other venues.
The Colonial and Revolutionary periods of South Jersey have become my passion and I've read many fascinating books on the subject.
In the past year, I've begun to do family history and genealogy will be a part of this blog.
The purpose of the blog is to acquaint my fellow history buffs with events at various sites in South Jersey, as well as locations.
Since I get around to so many other sites and libraries, I thought it might be helpful to post events and report on visits to these sites to encourage networking, and sharing.

Books I Bought at Greenwich, Cumberland County Historical Society Library

The Beloved Cohansie, of Philip Vickers Fithian
Early Shipbuilding Particularly in South Jersey, Ruth Cook Brown
The Autobiography of Thomas Harris of New England Town in Cohansey West Jersey
The Military Journal of George Ewing of Greenwich, Cohansey, West New Jersey 1775-1778

Books I already owned but am now reading:
The New Jersey Business, Dr. Henry Bisbee (a fictionalized account of the founding of Fenwick's colony in Salem)
ALWAYS at my side, the WPA Guide to 1930's New Jersey

the book I just finished that led me to this latest adventure:
Parallel Communities, the Underground Railroad in South Jersey, Dennis Rizzo

And newly arrived in the mail in time for Women's History Month:
The Diary of A Farmer's Wife 1796-1797 (Anne Hughes of Chepstow, Monmouthshire, England)

Burlington County Historians Roundtable

Burlington County Historians Roundtable

General Washington's Birthday

Springtown

Allegedly the Skull of Count Von Donop

Hessian Commander killed at Battle of Red Bank, National Park, NJ

Clarke House

Battle of Princeton, Revolutionary War

Revolutionary War Guns

Clarke House Museum

Books on the Princeton Battle

This list is reduced to author and title to save space. You can use this info. to look up the books on the net.
Dwyer, The Day Is Ours
Fischer, Washington's Crossing
Ketchum, The Winter Soldiers
Lefkowitz, The Long Retreat
Smith, The Battle of Princeton
Stryker, The Battles of Trenton and Princeton
Wertenbaker, The Princeton Battle Monument
I've read the Dwyer book and the Lefkowitz book and can highly recommend both as informative and interesting.